AT THE against-all-odds moment when Liverpool snatched Champions League victory in Istanbul, Anne-Marie Davies was watching on TV like thousands of ecstatic supporters.

It was a memorable night for the self-confessed “mad Red” - and one she’s about to recapture live on stage.

Although oddly this time around, rather than cheering from the sidelines, the Wirral actress will be playing a very different part ... not as a fan, or even a Liverpudlian, but as a Turkish cleaner!

Anne-Marie takes one of three lead roles in Nicky Allt’s new play One Night In Istanbul, which premieres at the Empire next week.

She is Adelet, a chambermaid in the hotel where two Liverpool fans – played by John McArdle and comedian John Bishop – are staying for the big match.

“Adelet is described as a sexy real-life Cinderella, who wants to get away from her cleaning job and her life,” explains Anne-Marie. “She’s basically cleaning at the hotel where the lads are and I have to seduce John Bishop’s character to try and get some money back from him for my dodgy brother and his mate.

“She’s a bit of a temptress and she has to do some serious flirting, but then she’s also got a dark side so she’s a great role to play. It’s a comedy too, which I love doing, so it’s been a lot of fun.”

Anne-Marie is probably most familiar from her time at Brookside, where she played nanny Katrina Evans for almost five years.

Although, she adds, she never actually crossed paths on the famous Close with John McArdle who played Billy Corkhill.

“I started in 1998, after he left, but I did meet him in Cannes this spring and he was such a lovely guy.

“I’d never met John Bishop either, but he’s so funny. In rehearsals I’m on stage trying to be this horrible bitch and he’s sitting there, with his back to the audience, doing his best to make me laugh. He’s really easy to work with, it’s just hard to get the lines out when I look at him because he’s hilarious.”

As for the Turkish accent, Anne-Marie admits that’s been a challenge but one she’s pretty relaxed about.

“I’ve done quite a few plays before where I’ve needed an accent – everything from German to Yorkshire – so I’m used to that.

“I had a friend who was Egyptian and that’s a very similar accent so I’ve been around a lot of people who speak Arabic. Another friend’s sister is from Istanbul, so I’ve been getting some tips from her, although she says the accents are so different in various parts of the country. There are so many different dialects. But I’m not worried because it’s a comedy and she’s more of a caricature so it doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect.”

One Night In Istanbul is Nicky Allt’s latest Liverpool-based play after the phenomenal success of Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels.

There are plenty of Scouse jokes, says Anne-Marie, but that doesn’t mean it won’t appeal to audiences outside the city.

“I think it would travel without any problem,” she says. “On the set there’s going to be two big screens showing footage of the match, the build-up and the aftermath so it’s a brilliant atmosphere.

“An audience in London might not get all the jokes, but there are Liverpool footballer supporters all over the world so it’s a universal story really. It’s just a great play celebrating the success of the club.”

Playwright Nicky earmarked Anne-Marie for the role after seeing her in a production called Bully, staged by the actress and former Brookie pal Suzanne Collins.

They run a drama company together called High Horizons, holding workshops and using drama to get a message across through schools and weekly classes.

And, if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, the 33-year-old is mum to three-year-old Jasmine too.

Living with her little girl and partner Karl in Prenton, Anne-Marie still gets recognised from her Brookside days and from other TV roles.

“I was buying a sandwich the other day and a woman said ‘you were in Heartbeat weren’t you’?” she laughs. “You forget that you’re in 10million people’s living rooms when you do something like that.

“But then because it’s been a while since Brookside I also quite often get people who know my face, but can’t remember where from. They’ll come up and say ‘hiya, are you still working in the hairdressers?”